CHRISTmas - Dec 2

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WISH LISTS
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Tonight I have been gathering wish lists for Christmas giving.
What do people need?
What do they want?
What are they hoping for?
What are they expecting?
- - - - -

I sit here and wonder on that first Christmas
What did the people need?
What did they want?
What were they hoping for?
What were they expecting?

We know they knew it was the time for the Messiah. We know they were looking for Him.
We also know that what they were hoping for and what they were expecting was from their perspective NOT what they received. Jesus Christ was not the Conquering King they were expecting.

I am reminded of the gifts of the Magi that first Christmas.
How the gifts they brought were expensive showing honor and worth. Each of the Gifts had significant meaning that Blessed and Honored this New Born Messiah, King of the Jews, King of Kings. Gold honored Jesus as a King. Frankincense, an exceedingly aromatic gum used in the sacred incense for the Temple service, honored Jesus as God and High Priest. Myrrh was a sign that Jesus was an annointed man/a prophet and that He would die. (click here for more on the gifts of the Magi) I am reminded that they came searching, undeterred in their search and when they found this new King in conditions perhaps they were not expecting they did not turn away they bowed, worshipped, and offered their gifts.

I think about God's gift to us that first Christmas.
He came knowing exactly ...
What they/we needed?
What they/we wanted?
What they/we were hoping for?
What they/we were expecting?
He came and gave us so much more. He forfeited His Rights as God and humbled Himself in our likeness. He wrapped himself up in the helplessness of a human baby subject and dependant on His own creation to care for Him. He knew who we were, sinful and weak, and yet subjected Himself to that anyway because He loved us so much. He learned obedience. He was an anointed prophet, a man, tempted in every way. He gave us in Himself a High Priest that really knows our weaknesses. He gave us Victory and Power over the thing we were most powerless against, our own sin and it's penalty of death. He gave us a restored kinship with the Almighty God, and not only that but a friendship. He came to give us Life - Life Abundant in the Spirit.

God's gift to us looks odd at first, God wrapped up as a helpless baby, born in a manger, first worshipped by Shepard's. Humble beginnings for sure. But the Glory and Majesty of that first Christmas is still yet giving Life, Light, and Hope to all the world.

My final thought: a few questions.
What is on your wish list to God this Christmas?
What is on your list to give God this Christmas?
What do you think is on His for you?